The 1997 Spanish Grand Prix was a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor race held on 25 May 1997 at the
Circuit de Catalunya
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stan ...
in
Montmeló
Montmeló () is a municipality in the comarca of Vallès Oriental, within the Barcelona metropolitan area, in Catalonia, Spain. It contains the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is the home of the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix
The Spani ...
, Spain. It was the sixth race of the
1997 Formula One World Championship
The 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 51st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It commenced on 9 March and ended on 26 October after seventeen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Jacques Villeneuve and the Constr ...
.
The 64-lap race was won from
pole position by Canadian
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various o ...
, driving a
Williams-
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
. Frenchman
Olivier Panis
Olivier Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver. Panis raced in Formula One for ten seasons, earning his first and only win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team.
He is the father of racing driver Auréli ...
finished second in a
Prost-
Mugen-Honda
Mugen Motorsports (無限), legally known as M-TEC Company, Ltd., is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. Mugen, meaning "without limit", "unlimited" o ...
, six seconds behind Villeneuve, having only started 12th.
Another Frenchman,
Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell ...
, finished third in a
Benetton-Renault.
The win, Villeneuve's third of the season, put him back into the lead of the Drivers' Championship by three points from German
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
, who finished fourth in his
Ferrari.
Race summary
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
, having started 7th, ended the first lap in 2nd position, and was challenging
Villeneuve in the
Williams for the lead. However, Schumacher, in the spare
Ferrari, was unable to stay with the leader and was starting to slow the cars behind him. By lap 13, the gap between him and Villeneuve was approximately 20 seconds, and a train of cars consisting to
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
,
Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell ...
,
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three Fo ...
,
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three.
...
, and
Johnny Herbert
John Paul "Johnny" Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and current television announcer for Sky Sports F1. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for seven different teams, winning three races and placing 4th in ...
was behind him. His lap times were approximately 1:26 while Villeneuve's was 1:22.
In this high tyre wearing race, especially for the
Goodyear tyres,
the first
pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...
s started at approximately lap 14, with the final one being on lap 25, which was
Olivier Panis
Olivier Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver. Panis raced in Formula One for ten seasons, earning his first and only win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team.
He is the father of racing driver Auréli ...
, in his finely balanced
Prost with
Bridgestone tyres. Soon after, beginning from lap 29, three stop runners were starting to pit for the 2nd time. This enabled Panis to gain positions, and by lap 34, he was 4th, and closing on Alesi and Coulthard who were 2nd and 3rd respectively. Soon after, Panis overtook Coulthard, who was on inferior Goodyear tyres, in a fine move on the approach to turn 1. Panis managed to jump to 2nd place ahead of Alesi in the pits.
Panis was gaining on the leader, Villeneuve, by approximately 1.5 seconds per lap. By the end of lap 49, the gap was 10.8 seconds, from 13 seconds at the end of lap 47. However, during lap 50, Panis was held up by traffic, firstly
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races.
Schumacher began kart ...
's
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and then the Ferrari of
Eddie Irvine
Edmund Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One between 1993 and 2002, and finished runner-up in the 1999 World Drivers' Championship, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
He b ...
. With marshals not waving the
blue flags,
Irvine failed to let Panis through, and thus allowing Jean Alesi and Michael Schumacher to catch him up. When Irvine finally yielded on lap 57, the gap between Panis and Villeneuve was back up to 16.1 seconds. Irvine later received a
stop-go penalty for his actions. After Panis cleared the traffic, he was lapping 1.5 to 2 seconds faster than the leader and managed to close the gap to less than 6 seconds by the end of the race, but it was too late and Villeneuve took his 3rd victory of the season. This was Panis's final podium finish in Formula One.
Classification
Qualifying
Race
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
References
{{F1GP 90-99
Spanish Grand Prix
The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
Spanish Grand Prix
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
Spanish Grand Prix
The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...